D
Deleted member 165050
Guest
That is an undeniably bad piece of work. I would take it back and ask if he’d noticed the rout is off centre, then see how he responds to start with.
Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
Where did you find this clown? I finally found a repairman I really like, but previously I didn't take an instrument to anyone I didn't have multiple personal referrals for.
Basically you're screwed. If you let him touch it again, you are crazy and if you think he's going to give you a penny, you are dreaming. @bassbenj nailed it. Find someone that knows what they are doing, fix it right, and chalk this up to experience.
Basically you're screwed. If you let him touch it again, you are crazy and if you think he's going to give you a penny, you are dreaming. @bassbenj nailed it. Find someone that knows what they are doing, fix it right, and chalk this up to experience.
I know it's 5 pages in, but I'm sorry this happened dude. I hope you and the luthier can come to an amicable resolution. And by that I mean he buys you a new body and refunds your money.
We had one guy in my area that basically did repairs every local musician's gear and a few celebrities that live here, too. He was there for over 20 years and one day decided he would rather work on pools instead. Luckily I have a friend who does professional setups and is willing to teach me, but it was nice knowing that other guy was around if I needed repair work.
Chalk it up to experience is a last resort. It was put on a credit card so the call is going in to dispute this morning. I will ask for compensation as this was $1500 instrument that is now only worth the cost of parts.
wmhill
Inactive
- Aug 20, 2012
- 4,054
- 17,209
- Disclosures
- MTD basses endorsed artist Bartolini pickups emerging artist TECAMP bass players gear endorsed
nothing short of a bloodletting would quell my anger, if I were in your shoes. The guy should be beaten with his own router.
As has been said, there is no fix for this other than replacing the body. Plates and bigger pickups are not what you paid for but, most importantly, not what you wanted in the first place. They are a compromise you should not have to accept under any corcumstances. A freehand routing which, aside from being very far off centre and is disgracefully sloppy around the mounting lugs, is simply unacceptable work from someone claiming to be a professional.
New body with parts transferred by someone else or take them to court, nothing else would do for me.
Given how they’ve tried to cover up the mess somewhat by moving the strings off-centre on the bridge, I’d be interested to see how the strings sit on the neck. They should be woefully off-centre too, towards the bass side of the neck unless he has made efforts to shift the neck in the pocket. It might be worth checking the neck pocket for any messing around too.
New body with parts transferred by someone else or take them to court, nothing else would do for me.
Given how they’ve tried to cover up the mess somewhat by moving the strings off-centre on the bridge, I’d be interested to see how the strings sit on the neck. They should be woefully off-centre too, towards the bass side of the neck unless he has made efforts to shift the neck in the pocket. It might be worth checking the neck pocket for any messing around too.
Funnily enough, given the thread title, it might have been a better job had he used a hatchet because he shouldn’t be allowed anywhere near a router without adult supervision.
i'll answer the question. if recordings being blind were the only consideration all basses would be the same color. even if it sounds perfect, which i doubt (it may sound ok or even good, but could probably sound better if done right), it just plain doesnt look right. if you like to pay for crappy work thats cool for you, some of us want things done right.
That is messed up. I could have done better and I'm an idiot.
I would be taking that back to this "luthier" and demand it be fixed or full refund.
Who doesn't make sure the J is not lined up with the bridge that is right next to it?
Oh, and I would not be doing any business with that guy in the future.
If he does not make it right, there would be pictures and his name all over social media l.
I would be taking that back to this "luthier" and demand it be fixed or full refund.
Who doesn't make sure the J is not lined up with the bridge that is right next to it?
Oh, and I would not be doing any business with that guy in the future.
If he does not make it right, there would be pictures and his name all over social media l.
Good luck. My dealings with the courts has shown me that you only get as much justice as you can afford. I've had friends prevail in court and still not get the compensation that the courts awarded them. Hopefully the guy will surprise us all and work with you to make this right.Chalk it up to experience is a last resort. It was put on a credit card so the call is going in to dispute this morning. I will ask for compensation as this was $1500 instrument that is now only worth the cost of parts.
On a lighter note, it's been amusing reading all the posts from people who tell you to 'demand' that the repairman do something. You can't 'make' him do anything. If he digs in his heels, by the time the courts help you, it will have cost you twice as much in your time than anything you would get out of him.
This is nonsense.
It is a job not done right. Not even close.
If he used Velcro and duct tape, you would be fine as long as it sounds good?
Of course it's not your money so it's easy to make these silly statement as
He did not get what he paid for. It was a hack job. Minimum, he should be refunded whatever he paid for this "work".
I had a shop set up a banjo for me and also had them add a few spikes to the neck (something that players add to easily change key to the high G). The shop specialized in banjos so I figured it was a no brainer. Got the banjo back and saw the two of the three spikes had ben driven through the neck far enough to start poking through the finish on the back of the neck, and it was a double-bound neck and the guy split the binding, leading me to believe he didn't even drill pilot holes, he just hammered those spikes in. He never mentioned this to me and let me discover it on my own, which was glaringly obvious and I guess he just hoped I'd never notice. Super shady and I immediately called them out on it. They tried to play it off like nothing happened. Long story short, after months of back and forth and some help from a friend in the industry who is well known and also knew the shop owner, he called them out on their mistake and they ended up buying me a new neck. The banjo wasn't made anymore, but luckily my connection in the industry worked for the company who manufactured my banjo and found a neck in their warehouse.
Sorry to hear about your bass OP, and hope you get it resolved to your liking.
Sorry to hear about your bass OP, and hope you get it resolved to your liking.
Chalk it up to experience is a last resort. It was put on a credit card so the call is going in to dispute this morning. I will ask for compensation as this was $1500 instrument that is now only worth the cost of parts.
... tah dah! Speedy resolution, mi amigo.
That is tragic. There is no practical suitable repair, as it would require a new body, and paint job. I’m going to make a wager that this tech does not have liability coverage, which means your prospect for recovery is is dim. I will say this, I have an American P-Delux in that configuration stock from Fender, and the poles don’t line up on the bridge pickup exactly either, but no where near as bad as yours. Good luck.
I think that's one of the things that bugs me most (among many) is that he didn't point it out. Own up and say "Hey, I had some problems..." And, worse, if he thinks this is acceptable at all then he shouldn't be in business.
OK - I am sending this to him today, since he is closed until Tuesday. This will give him ample time to decide how he will rectify the situation:
Roger -
You just did the jazz pickup installation on my Lake Placid Precision bass that I picked up Saturday afternoon. On closer inspection, I am extremely dissatisfied with the work. At first glance the routing looked rough but perhaps acceptable, but when I got it home and looked at it under the lights, it is clearly a freehand approach and not acceptable on this kind of an instrument. What is worse, as I inspected it closer, I realized that the pickup is not even centered with the other pickup and the bridge! It is off by a good quarter inch or more. Other than looking shoddy, it also means that the strings are not properly lined up to the pole pieces of the pickup. I have photos I am happy to share.
My concern, Roger, is that this is an unrepairable mistake and that what has happened here is the destruction of my $1,500+ bass guitar. This bass, as I told you when I dropped it off, is a custom American Design Experience bass that is one of a kind and had sentimental value as well as dollar investment from me.
I am contacting my credit card company now to put a dispute in on the charge. I am also going to ask for compensation in the form of a new Fender American Precision bass body or $500 cash to replace the now unrepairable, unusable body you returned to me.
I appreciate the effort and fully support local businesses like yours. Unfortunately, I cannot overlook this and need to reach resolution immediately.
I look forward to hearing from you promptly.
Roger -
You just did the jazz pickup installation on my Lake Placid Precision bass that I picked up Saturday afternoon. On closer inspection, I am extremely dissatisfied with the work. At first glance the routing looked rough but perhaps acceptable, but when I got it home and looked at it under the lights, it is clearly a freehand approach and not acceptable on this kind of an instrument. What is worse, as I inspected it closer, I realized that the pickup is not even centered with the other pickup and the bridge! It is off by a good quarter inch or more. Other than looking shoddy, it also means that the strings are not properly lined up to the pole pieces of the pickup. I have photos I am happy to share.
My concern, Roger, is that this is an unrepairable mistake and that what has happened here is the destruction of my $1,500+ bass guitar. This bass, as I told you when I dropped it off, is a custom American Design Experience bass that is one of a kind and had sentimental value as well as dollar investment from me.
I am contacting my credit card company now to put a dispute in on the charge. I am also going to ask for compensation in the form of a new Fender American Precision bass body or $500 cash to replace the now unrepairable, unusable body you returned to me.
I appreciate the effort and fully support local businesses like yours. Unfortunately, I cannot overlook this and need to reach resolution immediately.
I look forward to hearing from you promptly.
Exactly. If the guy called me beforehand, or pulled me aside when I went to pick it up and fessed up to the mistake and said he's work with me to make it right I would have been totally cool about it. What makes my blood moil is the fact that he thought I'd never notice, AND tried to charge me for his screw up.
